A LOUGHBOROUGH man who grew up watching movies at the towns cinema is now about to see his own work on the big screen after securing a s3m investment to shoot his first full-length movie.

James Berry, 28, a former pupil from Loughborough Grammar School, started his career as a runner on EastEnders before taking a job for a production company in Los Angeles.

Perfecting his craft on a number of short films, James has finally been given the chance to shoot his first full-length coming-of-age drama Running on Empty in the UK in 2010.

The s3m independent picture tells the story of a talented young rugby player stuck in one of the countrys worst teams and promises to be a Billy Elliott meets Good Will Hunting type of movie.

James, who wrote the script and is directing the feature, told the Echo: I am not a huge sports fan but I love capturing the drama of sport on screen and I really like the coming-of-age drama. Its funny where watching movies at the Curzon on a Saturday afternoon will take you.

I dont think we have seen a good coming-of-age drama looking at the 18 to 20-year-olds for a long time. The last was probably Billy Elliott.

The story is about a man stuck in a really bad team who finally gets the chance to play for a great team but has to live up to his familys expectations of him. Its about how do you stay true to yourself and at the same time your background.